With a mixed submarine fleet back on the table, here's my take on the idea from September: philippelagasse.substack.com/p/two-types-...

Worth noting the evaluation criteria for CPSP: Capability and acquisition cost will only count for 35%. The real money will be in sustainment, which explains why it ranks so high (50%). All those economics partnerships will only count for 15%. www.ctvnews.ca/politics/art...

I think bluesky would be roughly 300% better if people here were capable of reading “this is an assessment of the empirical reality of a situation” without assuming it comes with an implicit “and therefore I endorse the reality of that situation”

🤷🏻‍♂️

Now in wide release, my latest YouTube episode where @plagasse.bsky.social and I talk about what the government has laid out with their Defence Industrial Strategy. #cdnpoli

New episodes released early for C$7+ subscribers. This week I'm with @plagasse.bsky.social to delve into the Defence Industrial Strategy. #cdnpoli

Good day to re-read these @plagasse.bsky.social pieces on Defence Against Help Where a large power starts claiming a smaller country is failing and can’t manage its own affairs, so the large power must step in under the guise of ‘help’ ras-nsa.ca/canada-must-... www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Oh...royal succession is in the news...

A second post on Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy. This time, I look at how colleges and universities fit within the DIS. Since this is Bluesky, I'll assure you that I address student and faculty opposition to working with defence. open.substack.com/pub/philippe...

A second post on Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy. This time, I look at how colleges and universities fit within the DIS. Since this is Bluesky, I'll assure you that I address student and faculty opposition to working with defence. open.substack.com/pub/philippe...

New at Debating Canadian Defence: open.substack.com/pub/philippe...

Happy to share the Call for Papers for the Ninth Annual Spring Workshop of the Courts & Politics Research Group, to be hosted at the University Guelph on May 8, 2026. www.courtsandpolitics.org/Events.php

New at Debating Canadian Defence: open.substack.com/pub/philippe...

All else being equal: Non-bankrupt universities > bankrupt universities.

Trying to model these ON funding changes based on imperfect data is annoying. My very quick take is that by 2029-30, ON institutions will likely have recovered all the real *public* funding they have lost since 2012. But total domestic income will still be down b/c of long tuition freeze. I think

How will Canada pay for a massive military rebuild? Billions are planned, but big questions remain about where the money comes from and how it’s spent. @jeyantvo.bsky.social spoke with @annfitzgerald.bsky.social (@balsillieschool.bsky.social) & @plagasse.bsky.social (@npsia.bsky.social)

Check out my typically rosy view of things tonight on TVO's @therundowntvo.bsky.social!

For those asking, "ah but did they consider X factor?" In all likelihood, yes. A summary of what was covered in 2012-2014 alone: publications.gc.ca/collections/...

USAF F35s operate out of Alaska. We'd have to see the per unit cost, and the build in Canada premium, for Gripens. F35 has a low per unit cost owing to economies of scale. I suspect this whole review is about leverage, yes.

Looking to the past helped inform this decision. Fleet size, upgradability, etc, etc. I get that we all have different views, but I'd encourage people not to assume that DND/CAF are simply dim.

Thus far, it looks like a basic risk management question. Highly unlikely to be an issue, but would be tragic in an exceptional case. Gripen also has a single engine!

The F35 has certainly failed to live up to its anticipated readiness. Will it get there? Probably not. It'll probably stay closer to traditional fighters.

Eurofighter pulled out as soon as the competition started. Same with Dassault.

The competition was scored against the missions that the government assigned to the CAF. Those missions haven't changed. They won't change until the Carney govt issues a new defence policy, which I've seen no sign of.

Indeed. Here's the problem. This isn't just an F35 problem. It applies to basically all the CAF's higher end capabilities. Focusing on the F35 is akin to stressing about one symptom, rather than the underlying condition.

Here you go: philippelagasse.substack.com/p/fighters-p...

The leaked tables give you a sense. Both platforms met the mandatory criteria. F35 has a clearer upgrade path, ability to conduct higher end missions, etc. They were similar on sustainment and delivery timelines. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

If you're the RCAF, you're asking do I want to go up against peer or near peer adversaries with operational parity or operational advantage?

Stealth is a shorthand for not being detected as easily or quickly. That matters when you're dealing with decisions that come down to seconds (i.e. can I take out that surface to air system before it launches against me.)

Existing drones have limitations of various sorts, particularly when it comes to speed, lethality, and most importantly, having human eyes on a given situation (think hijacked airliner).

Alright. Fine. Fighter aircraft AMA, as someone who independently reviewed Canada's choices in 2012-2014 and 2019. Go!

"When excluded from their spheres of interest, entrenched bureaucratic forces will, almost as a biological reflex, respond aggressively." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/o...

job Assistant Professor in Politics University of New Brunswick, Saint John ...The successful candidate should have experience teaching in such areas such areas as the Canadian Politics and Comparative Politics or International Relations... csn-rec.ca/job-postings... @cpsa-acsp.bsky.social

Drouin's appointment as Canadian ambassador to France might be interesting in terms of greater security and defence cooperation between the two countries.

Building on the comments I offered to the CBC, here's my recent Substack on Canadian national policy after Carney's Davos speech. Trade diversification is underway, but I remain unsure that our security ties to the US are being reconsidered. philippelagasse.substack.com/p/defence-in...

“After the Davos speech, I expect to see a change in defence policy. Otherwise, I wonder if the prime minister really believes what he is saying, or if it's rather a way to put pressure on the United States.” @plagasse.bsky.social lays it out precisely. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Here's a new paper by me on the constitutional and legal frameworks underpinning civilian control of the military and command authority in Canada. It looks at how to improve the complex web of statutes, regulations, and Crown prerogative involved in this area. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Take a look at these NATO defence spending figures. Pay special attention to Denmark....

I think planning for a US civil war is much more of an urgent priority than planning for a potential US invasion of Canada. Borders, trade, humanitarian crises... how will Canada cope?

Patrick Lennox asks how Canada should prepare for escalating, violent conflict within the United States: open.substack.com/pub/plennox/...

Over at @thestar.com, @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social asks how cuts to Canada's public service, and Global Affairs Canada in particular, align with the visions and goals of the Carney doctrine: www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

The tariff threat over the Canada-China deal is a first test of the Carney doctrine, and Canada-US relations more generally. Are we able to make independent decisions or are we a tributary?

New at Debating Canadian Defence: open.substack.com/pub/philippe...

Il ne restera plus sur les armoiries du Québec que le lys d’or, le léopard et le rameau de feuilles d’érable. Le gouvernement Legault voit là un geste d’affirmation nationale.

Re-upping my pessimistic scenarios in light of the Alberta musings: www.readtheline.ca/p/philippe-l...

One would have thought the Europeans, of all people, would understand salami slicing.

Jean-Christophe Boucher and I summarize polling the @cdsn.bsky.social conducted on Canadian defence spending and Canada-United States defence relations in Policy Magazine: www.policymagazine.ca/poll-shows-c...

New at Debating Canadian Defence: open.substack.com/pub/philippe...

NEW POST: Is the Supreme Court's Secession Reference Still Relevant? emmettmacfarlane.substack.com/p/is-the-sup...

"The so-called Global North is going to experience the world in a way that the so-called Global South has for quite some time."